Le Chataignier is situated in the Mayenne, Pays de la loire France, it is a small hamlet of Chelle, part of the village of Hambers which is 3.5km away. Le Chataignier is on the edge of a national park in the middle of the Couverons.

We are situated south east of Mayenne and north of Evron, which is a short drive away, and has a wonderful market, and is approximately 45mins from Le Mans.

Le Mans, With it's race track, jackabean quarter and marvelous summer sound and light show, is a enjoyable place to be. Also there is a new city tram way with its track grassed over and trimmed giving pleasent long green vistas.

Both the house and cottage are in view of the medieval chapel of Montague which is a lovely walk away, and gives panoramic views of the Mayenne countryside. Mayenne also bosts the oldest moated house in the pays de la loire.

The medieval castles of Chateau Lessey and Saint Susanne with it's summer jousting contests are just a short drive away, as well as the roman town of Jublains with temple, baths, fort and ampitheatre. Plays and events are held here in the summer months.

Fishing, walking, riding and sailing at the Gue de selle again a very short distance away are all available. There is also a very nice chateau in the neighbouring village where you are welcome to walk around the vast grounds.

Accomodation:

The cottage ( Gite ) has two bedrooms and is part of a small holding, althought private with it's own garden and parking. The bedrooms consist of one double with cot and the other fitted with two single beds. Both rooms have hot and cold water. The bathroom is fitted with a walk in shower and has a washing machine.

The lounge is comfortably furnished and has television ,DVD and Video as well as English satellite TV.

The Kitchen is well equipped including microwave and has a cosy wood burning fire.

The rest of the cottage has oil filled radiators, sheets and towels are provided.
Guests are welcome to join us as we work with the animals and we are happy for children to bottle feed the young in spring, as well as collect eggs, and generally get involved.

Livestock and Farm grounds:

Pontavine goats of which we have 20 are one of Frances rarest breeds and we are registed as one of only a few breeders in France. Only ten years of age there were under three thousand world wide. Kidding starts in mid Febuary and all the babys are fed by bottle for about three months, to start with three times a day.

Milking is done to start with by hand and subsequently by machine twice a day. It is hoped that we will have approximatly 16 to 24 babys this year. The milk from these wonderful animals produce the best goats cheese both soft and hard.

There's about 20 sheep at Le Chataignier all a bit of a mixed bunch and there could be upto 15 lambs this spring.

A variety of pigs consist of two breeding Tamworths, two breeding white longbacks ,one young wild boar and 19 other pigs of different ages. All three sows will produce piglets this year the first of these will be in April this year.

There are also chickens, ducks and geese at Le Chataignier as well as a worm farm for compost made from the waste produce.

Tourisme:

Evron the main town, is about 7 km away and has a wondeful market each week on a Thursday providiving a real taste of France. It also boasts a magnificant basilica with good supermarkets, shops and a mainline train station. There is also a good tourist information office here and staff are always helpful.

Evron boasts a lidl, Aldi, Intermarchie and a super U.
Intermarche is the eqivalent of Tesco. Where as Super U is the equivalent of Sainsburys where as lidl and Aldi are the same as back home in England.

For local tourist sites you can log onto www.tourime.lescoevrons.com or www.tourisme-mayenne.com
Here are a few examples:

Gué de sell
Come and discover a wide variety of safe sporting and water based activitys. Also available, children's playgrounds and fast food and restaurants. Which is a convinient five minute drive from the property.

Jublains
A place of great history. Come and be amazed by the facinating archaelogical finds.
Enjoy a leasurly stroal around a unique roman aphitheatre. Indulge yourself by taking a walk back in time by exploring the roman fort and let your imagination run wild, then gaze in awe at the roman temple.

The museum of archaeology brings the roman city to life with videos and displays of archaelogical finds.
Explore the roman baths and other places of intrest in the city with audio guides.

The caves of saulges
Come and dicover the magic and splendour of an underground world sculpted by time. Skillful lighting exposes the rocky walls and creates an exqusite atmosphere. Gift shop included
We advise sensible shoes and jumpers as the arey of caves can be cold and slipy under foot. All tourists are guided through the caves in groups by profeshional and well trained staff. We warn you that only one cave allows for children. However there is a nice array of nature walks for the family.

The Tatin Museum
This is a magical place where the Overflowing imagination of an exceptionally talented artist is celibrated in a museum in the form of a palace. Houing strang and facinating paintings Inside and a variety of sculptures in the museums grounds.
You can also get guided tours in english. There is a small gift shop and the curators are always willing to answer questions.

Mayenne
Mayenne is a small town which sits astride the Mayenne river in the north of Mayenne department. It is on an east-west line between Le Mans and Rennes, south of Caen and north of Angers. To find the town’s first distinguishing feature, you don’t even need to visit, just look on a map. This is the only town in France which has the same name as the river and the department! This interesting fact, as you can imagine, leads to a fair amount of confusion.

Le Mans
Le Mans is located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the prefecture (capital) of the Sarthe departement, and is furthermore the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles. It has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.

Saint Suzanne
In the middle of the Sarthe and the Mayenne, St Suzanne dominates the medieval town walls of the river Erve. Its dungeon, castle, old houses and its museum represent the richness of its history. The site is a paradise for hikers with more than
100 km of hiking trails, equestrian and mountain biking. At Sainte-Suzanne there are surrounding Numerous celebrations, medieval chivalry and performances for children and adults relive the life of the Middle Ages.

Tarifs:

Tarifs are charged per week:

1st April to 22nd June £330 a week
23rd June to 1st Sept £425 a week
2nd Sept to 22nd Dec £300 a week

Contact Us:

For more information or Bookings please call Karen on 00 33 2 43 69 12 28 or email on moc.loa|reingiatahcl#moc.loa|reingiatahcl.
You can also visit our Website for more information and all Photos http://lechataignier-chestnutreefarm.com